Catheter having one-way inflations valve



Nov. 11, 1969 D. L.ALLEN ETAL CATHETER HAVING ONE-WAY INFLATIONS VALVEFiled April 17, 1967 INVENTORS DWIGHT L. ALLEN 8 GLENNH- GRABLE ATTORNEYUnited States Patent M 3,477,438 CATHETER HAVING ONE-WAY INFLATIONSVALVE Dwight L. Allen, 2495 Brice Road, Akron, Ohio 44313, and Glenn H.Grable, Medina, Ohio; said Grable assignor to said Allen Filed Apr. 17,1967, Ser. No. 631,395 Int. Cl. A6111 17/34; A61m 25/00 US. Cl. 128-3498 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of invention Theinvention relates to a Foley-type catheter having an inflatableretention balloon at the distal end thereof and, in particular, relatesto valve means in a side-arm at the proximal end of the catheter forinflating a retention balloon at the distal end. Applicants prior US.Patent No. 3,138,161 discloses a catheter of this general type having aresilient valve plug therein, but in the patented structure use of theresilient valve is limited because a hy odermic needle is required to bepierced completely through an inner end wall of the plug. Accordingly,this type of valve could not be used in some areas of the United Statesand in certain foreign countries, where the practice was to use syringeshaving blunt-ended nozzles of varying diameters and thereby requiringuse of catheters having special types of valves provided withspring-loaded closure means, for example.

Summary of invention In accordance with the present invention, theimproved catheter valve may comprise a hollow plug of rubber-likeelastic material aifixed within the outer end of the catheter side-arm,said plug having a guide passage for axially inward reception of asyringe nozzle until a blunt end thereof forcibly engages a closed innerend wall of the plug to distend the same against resilient tension meansprovided for applying compressive stresses to said end wall. The endwall is provided with a slit therethrough, defining opposing surfaceswhich are normally yieldingly held in tight smooth sealing contact bythe aforesaid compressive stresses. Accordingly, varying sizes ofsyringe nozzles are insertable in the guide passage in the mannerdescribed, yieldingly to separate said opposing surfaces for freepassage of fluid in either direction therebetween.

One object of the present invention is to provide a catheter of thecharacter described having improved valve means having an elasticclosure portion, by which the catheter balloon may be syringe inflatedand deflated without injection of a hypodermic needle through saidclosure portion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a catheter valve of thecharacter described, adapted for use with syringes having blunt-endednozzles of varying lengths and/ or diameters.

Other objects of the invention will be manifest from the following briefdescription and the accompanying drawings.

3,477,438 Patented Nov. 11, 1969 Of the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the catheter embodying the improvedvalve means in the side-arm thereof.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section through the outerside-arm of the catheter shown in FIG- URE 1, and illustratingincorporation of one form of the improved valve means therein.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of FIGURE 2, on the same scale.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-section taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 2, on thesame scale.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary cross-section, corresponding to a portion ofthe FIGURE 2 structure, further enlarged to illustrate resilientactuation of the valve means by pressure of a blunt-ended syringe nozzleto open the valve opening means for passage of fluid therethrough.

FIGURES 6 and 7 are cross-sections, on the same scale as FIGURE 2,illustrating two parts of the improved valve unit or plug for assemblyand incorporation in the side-arm of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 8 is a view illustrating assembly of the two valve parts shown inFIGURES 6 and 7, and on the same scale, to form the improved valve unitor plug.

FIGURE 9 is a view corresponding to FIGURE 2, illustrating a modifiedform of the invention shown in FIGURES 1 to 6.

FIGURE 10 is a top plan view of FIGURE 9, on the same scale.

FIGURE 11 is a cross-section taken on the line 1111 of FIGURE 9.

Referring to FIGURES 1 to 8 of the drawings in general, and to FIGURES 2to 4 in particular, the catheter of the present invention is of the typeincluding a flexible rubber tube 10 provided with a drainage passagetherethrough from an apertured distal end 11 to a proximal end 12 whichusually is attached to a glass tube (not shown). The rubber tube 10, atits proximal end, has a flexible rubber side-arm 13 for connectionthrough a separate inflation passage (not shown) in the tube 10, with aretention balloon 14 at said distal end.

As best shown in FIGURES 2 to 4, the side-arm 13 has an enlarged and/ordistended free end portion 15 opening axially outwardly, and withinwhich a self-closing valve unit or plug 16 is adhesively afl ixed. Valveunit 16 may comprise a cup-shaped compression member 17 of suitablymolded or formed latex or like elastic material similarly adhesivelyaffixed within a yieldingly distended tubular end portion 18c of anelongated tension member 18 of similarly molded or formed latex or likeelastic material. The tension member 18 may have axially inwardlytapering extension 18t which terminates in a constricted tubular endportion 1842 adapted to extend partially into the reduced portion of thearm 13, thereby to increase localized compressive stresses applied tothe closed rounded inner end wall portion 17a of the compression member17 to requisite extent for purposes to be described. That is, thetension member 18, being yieldingly expanded over the compression member17, serves to maintain the rubber of the compression member 17 understrong compressive stress, and this condition is further aided by thetension applied to the valve unit 16 as a whole by the outer end of theyieldingly distended sidearm tubular part 15. Either before or after thevalve unit 16 is affixed within said tubular part 15, the compressionmember 17 may have a slit 20 cut therein, as by means of a sharp blade,as shown in FIGURES 2, 3, and 4, without removal of any of the materialfrom the end wall 17a. This slit 20, extending in a plane axiallythrough the end Wall 17a, defines opposed, mating planar surfaces whichare yieldingly maintained in flatwise, fluid-sealing contact, by theradially inward compressive stresses particularly applied to the roundedend wall 17a by the tapered portion 18: of tension member 18, aided bytension maintained in distended portions of the side-arm 13.

This construction is such that inward pressure of bluntended syringenozzle N against the inner, convex side of the rounded concavo-convexwall portion 17a to overlie the mating surface portions defined by theslit, as shown in chain-dotted lines in FIGURE 2, will distend said wallportion to separate the mating faces of slit 20, and thereby provide anopening between the same for free passage of fluid therethrough, asshown in full lines in FIGURE 5.

FIGURES 6 and 7 separately illustrate the compression member 17 andtension member 18, respectively, and FIGURE 8 illustrates the valveunit, including the compression member 17 cemented or otherwise adheredwithin the tubular end of tension member 18 as described.

In use of the improved catheter, described above in connection withFIGURES 1 to 8, to obtain a specimen of urine from the bladder, forexample, the distal end of the catheter is inserted through the urethrain known manner. To inflate the balloon 10 to retain the distal end inproper position, the surgeon or other operator inserts a blunt-endedsyringe nozzle into the guide passage of the valve compression member 17and exerts relatively slight amount of force against the rounded endwall 17a, sufficient to distend the elastic material thereof andseparate the mating faces of the slit 20 in the manner illustrated inFIGURE 5. While maintaining this condition, the operator may then feedfluid from the syringe through the nozzle end, the slit opening thusformed, and the side-arm 13 and the tube 10, to inflate balloon 14. Wheninflation has been completed by injection of the necessary amount offluid, the syringe is withdrawn to allow the mating faces of the slitportion 20 to be closed by the aforesaid compressive stresses appliedthereto, thereby to seal the slit portion against reverse flow of theinflation fluid. The slit portion 20 is maintained in closedfluid-sealing condition by the strong compressive forces applied by thetension member 18, assisted by the expanded tubular portions 15 of theside arm 13. When it becomes necessary to deflate the balloon 14, forremoval of the catheter from the urethra, the same procedure is followedexcept that the syringe nozzle end is used to open the slit portion forwithdrawal of the previously injected fluid from the catheter balloon14.

Referring to FIGURES 9 to 11, there is illustrated a modified form ofvalve means which is in all respects similar to the construction bestshown in FIGURES 2 to 5, except that in place of the tubular compressionmember 18, as best shown in FIGURE 8, the compression member 17 iscemented within the tubular part 15 of the side-arm 13 with a strongelastic band 181) adhesively aflixed between the tubular part 15 and thecompression member 17, as best shown in FIGURE 9. With this particularconstruction, the use of the elastic band compression device 18b lendsitself to economical manufacture of the valving device, and may employ acompression member 18 which is either slit lengthwise along one sidethereof, or is made in two halves as shown in FIGURE 9. In eitherinstance, the elastic band 18b compresses the compression member toretain the lengthwise slit or slits normally in tight fluid-sealingrelationship, including the slit portion 20 of end wall 17a, that is,without cementing the slitted portions of the compression membertogether above the slitted portion 20. Accordingly, this form of theinvention may be used substantially in the manner described above forFIGURES 1 to 8. Additionally, however, certain syringes having shortstubby nozzles or stems N are yieldingly insertable in tne guide passageG of compression member 17, as shown in chain-dotted lines in FIGURE 9,thereby to seal passage G against possible reverse fiow of inflationfluid being fed from a syringe. Accordingly, trapped fluid at thenormally sealed inner end of the passage G will distend the end wall 17aand open the extended slit portion 20 for quick passage of pressurefluid to the retention balloon 14 (FIGURE 1). It is contenplated thatthis extended slit idea, functioning as just described, may beincorporated in the FIGURES 2 to 8 forms of the invention.

Other modifications of the invention may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a retention catheter having a tubular fluid injection side-arm ofelastic material opening outwardly, a valve comprising: a hollow,cup-shaped compression plug of elastic material affixed within the openend of the sidearm to have a normally clos d concavo-convex end wallpresented inwardly thereof, and providing a guide passage for endwiseinward reception of a blunt-ended syringe nozzle against the concaveportion of said end wall within said passage; tension means acting uponsaid plug for maintaining said end wall under substantial radiallyinward compression stresses peripherally around the same; said end wallhaving aperture means axially therethrough defining radially opposed,mating surface portions, normally yieldingly held in fluid-sealingcontact by said radially inward compressive stresses of said tensionmeans; whereby axially inward engagement of the blunt end of said nozzlewith said concave portion of the end wall, to overlie said matingsurface portions yieldingly distends the end wall to separate saidmating portions and open said aperture means for passage of fluidtherethrough.

2. A catheter as in claim 1, said aperture means being a slit throughsaid end wall defining normally yieldingly contacting flatwise saidmating surface portions.

3. A catheter as in claim 2, wherein said tension means includes aperipheral elastic tension member interposed between said plug and saidsidearm to amplify the yielding compressive stresses about said closedinner end wall.

4. A catheter as in claim 3, wherein said tension member has aconstricted extension axially inwardly of the end wall to concentratesaid compressive stresses closely adjacent the end Wall of the plug.

5. A catheter as in claim 4, wherein the effective separable extent ofsaid slit is confined to the area of said end wall freely exposedinwardly thereof.

6. A catheter as in claim 5, wherein said compression plug is splitalong at least one side thereof, and the mating edges formed by thesplit are permanently maintained in fluid-sealing relation with theexception of said separable extent of said slit.

7. A catheter as in claim 6, wherein said compression plug is in twohalves defined by a said split.

8. A catheter as in claim 1 wherein said compression plug is split alongat lest one side edge thereof, and the mating surface portions formed bythe split are permanently maintained in fluid-sealing relation with theexception of said separable extent of said slit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,183,900 12/1939 Voit et al.273- 2,295,804 9/1942 Olson 27365 2,896,629 7/1959 Warr 128--3492,944,580 7/1960 Nece 273-65 X 3,138,161 6/1964 Allen 128348 3,385,3015/1968 Harautunian 128349 3,401,714 9/1968 Scott 137-223 FOREIGN PATENTS821,676 8/1937 France.

5,917 1905 Great Britain. 452,128 10/1949 Italy.

DALTON L. TRULUCK, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. -22a

